20 Instructions for Life by the Dalai Lama (who came to USC last year!)

This ‘life instructions’ list from the Dalai Lama has gone viral and I absolutely love it! Here it is:

 

1.Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

 

2. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.

 

3. Follow the three R’s:

–  Respect for self,

–  Respect for others and

–  Responsibility for all your actions.

 

4. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck.

 

5. Learn the rules so you know how to break them properly. (LIKE)

 

6. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great relationship.

 

7. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

 

8. Spend some time alone every day.(LIKE)

 

9. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.

 

10. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.

 

11. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and

think back, you’ll be able to enjoy it a second time.

 

12. A loving atmosphere in your home is the foundation for your life.

 

13. In disagreements with loved ones, deal only with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past. (BUT IT’S SO HARD NOT TO!)

 

14. Share your knowledge. It is a way to achieve immortality.(WHAT KNOWLEDGE)

 

15. Be gentle with the earth.(I GUESS THIS MEANS BE MORE GREEN)

 

16. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.

 

17. Remember that the best relationship is one in which your love for each other exceeds your need for each other.(WHAT DOES THIS MEAN!?!?)

 

18. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it. (AGAIN SO CONFUSED)

 

19. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion.

 

20. If you want to be happy, practice compassion.

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Ruminations on Mumbai

Sometimes it feels as though it was yesterday that I was in Mumbai and sometimes it feels as if I never went there at all. It’s a vibrant culture filled with gregarious warm people who are just as interested to learn about you as they are to share their lives with you. The city itself is alive and bustling at anytime, day or night, and is a paradox of wealth and poverty coexisting together. I oftentimes miss my mumbaiker best friend who showed me around the best neighborhoods of Mumbai, took me out to the hidden gems of dive-ins and restaurants, and made me feel at home even though I was far from it. It goes to show that when you reminisce about your experiences, you remember the people you shared your experiences with and the way they affected you, not a historical monument or a famous shopping street. What I hold dearest are the people I spent day to day with, both at work and outside, who I swapped life stories with, laughed at jokes with, and listened to me when I wanted to complain.